Community Spaces made by and for everyone
The Warm Welcome Story
The Warm Welcome Campaign is beginning a new chapter. What started as a crisis response to keep people warm through the winter has blossomed into a movement to reconnect individuals and communities across the country all year round. The Warm Welcome Campaign and local spaces have created what former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown calls a ‘Chain of Hope.’ Warm Welcome Spaces are places full of human warmth, belonging, connection and hope. Thousands of lives are being touched by Warm Welcome Spaces - they are the heartbeat of local communities, buzzing with life and bringing people together.
Last winter, Warm Welcome Spaces hosted 3.5 million visits across more than 6,300 spaces. There were more than 63,800 visits to the Warm Welcome map.
The Warm Welcome Campaign is delivered in collaboration with the network of Warm Welcome Spaces and a coalition of local, regional, and national partners representing the worlds of charity, faith, business, government, and philanthropy.
Our fourth year
Warm Welcome has had an even more significant impact on individuals, almost doubling the number of people who say they always or often feel positive about their future. This year, Warm Welcome Spaces hosted 3.5 million visits.
63,833
people used our Warm Welcome Space online map to find a space
3,500,000
visits to Warm Welcome Spaces over the Winter
“It is one thing for Warm Welcome to have supported a crisis response last winter. But to see the way that this movement has developed, speaks to something deeper and more significant - the potential that often lies latent in our communities. By harnessing this potential, Warm Welcome now has the opportunity to start to change the culture of this country, beginning to turn the tide on both poverty and isolation and connecting indivduals and communities."
Right Honourable Gordon Brown
Former Prime Minister
Over 14.4 million people live in poverty in the UK and 7% of people experience chronic loneliness
It is estimated that disconnected communities could cost the UK economy £32 billion every year
Our Purpose and Vision
Warm Welcome Spaces
Warm Welcome Spaces are places of belonging, where new friendships are forged, and where people feel valued. Most Warm Welcome Spaces are open all year round. We want to make sure that everyone can find a welcoming place of belonging and reconnection close to their home.
Warm Welcome Spaces come in all shapes and sizes, from libraries, community centres, faith-based spaces to cafes, sports centres, businesses, museums, and so many more. But what they all have in common is that they are all places of belonging, where new friendships are forged, and where people feel valued.
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Warm Welcome began as a seasonal campaign supporting communities through the coldest time of the year. It's now an all year round campaign, bringing connection, friendship, and human warmth to communities every day, helping people feel less isolated and lonely and boosting wellbeing.
How we work
The Warm Welcome Campaign has a bold ambition to enable a more deeply connected society where we all have free access to welcoming community spaces.
But right now, not everyone can find a Warm Welcome Space close to home. We want to change this so there are more Warm Welcome Spaces, and everyone can find a welcoming place of belonging and reconnection in their neighbourhood.
Supporting Spaces
We resource, connect and champion a growing network of over 5,300 Warm Welcome Spaces. Together, these spaces create a chain of hope right across the UK, bringing people together and helping them feel more connected with their community.
Access to all
We want everyone to find a welcoming and inclusive space close to where they live, in places where people of all cultures, backgrounds, faiths, and walks of life can come together in their communities.
Working in partnership
The Warm Welcome Campaign brings together the network of Warm Welcome Spaces and a growing coalition of local, regional, and national partners representing the worlds of charity, faith, business, government, and philanthropy. Warm Welcome was co-created and built on partnership. Collaboration is at the heart of all we do, and Partners play a vital role in delivering Warm Welcome’s Strategy. Alongside ongoing engagement, partners have an open invitation to join our Monthly Partners Meeting. By working together, we can pool our experience and knowledge and bring this into the design and strategy for our work.
If you would like to partner with Warm Welcome, we’d love to hear from you.
Contact David Barclay
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Our Impact
After four years of operation, 79% of people agree that Warm Spaces can help people feel less lonely. 50% of the public have interacted with a Warm Space in the past. 72% of people live within 30 minutes of a Warm Space (up from 68%). 70% of the general population have heard of Warm Spaces.
Almost nine in 10 Warm Welcome Spaces (89%) are open throughout the year.
One in four spaces (24%) advertise themselves as a ‘Cool Space’ in the summer, as well as offer a ‘Warm Space’ in the winter. Nearly all Warm Welcome Spaces offer a social space (98%), with 93% offering food and drink to guests.
Seven in 10 spaces (71%) provide advice and signposting to their guests, and 32% offer guests energy efficiency and safety advice. 52% of Warm Welcome Spaces say they are worried about the impact of the current rising energy crisis in the coming winter. (Of this number, 21.5% are very worried and 30.5% are moderately worried about rising energy costs.)
Two in five spaces (41%) said they need further support accessing funding. Linked to this, a further 1 in 10 spaces (9%) felt specific support around meeting their energy costs would be useful.
Can you help run a Warm Welcome Space?
Contact us
Have a question? Get in touch with us!